Creating New Powers

[diocletianx]

Anyone have experience with creating new powers?

 

Have you deviated from the guidelines in 5th edition?

 

What are your recommendations?

 

 

Thanks,

 

-d

[Monolith]

There are not any powers that I can think of in comics that I have not found the ability to duplicate with the HERO System to date. So from that standpoint I have never had a reason to try and write a new power.

 

I have been slowly writing a new "Size" power which incorporates both Growth and Shrinking as being one power, but that is really about it (and no, I really do not want to bring back that argument).

 

Perhaps you have some examples in mind?

[sbarron]

You should give the forum a shot at the creating the power you want first, I think. There are really very, very few instances where a new power actually has to be created.

[diocletianx]

I'm not implying that I need to create a power that is not covered in 5th edition, but on page 354 there are guidelines on how to make "new" powers. They seem to be more of a combined set of powers and advantages/limitations.

 

What I'd like to see are examples of how people followed these guidelines and where they may have diverged.

 

-d.

[Tom McCarthy]

I have been tempted to create new powers on occasion, but usually I do so after trying to build the effects with existing powers and finding the results unsatisfactory due to unusually high costs relative to actual value.

 

For example, powers which cause knockback but no damage can be very expensive to build. Bodyjacking (a la Bodyjacker in Millennium City, after the errata is applied) also seems more expensive than it should for the utility.

[Monolith]

Originally posted by diocletianx

What I'd like to see are examples of how people followed these guidelines and where they may have diverged.

I have never done that, and I probably never will. I just assume if you are going to build it from scratch anyway, you might as well keep building it from scratch.

[Blue]

Wish I could think of something that hasn't been done. That would mean I was ahead of the game! And that hasn't happened since 3e. Once the BBB came out and they had a lot of the psychic abilities covered and extra-dimensional travel, then there were ways to simulate time-travel, that was pretty much it.

 

I'm currently working on a character who uses Psychometry (the ability to read psychic impressions from objects, in this case to get a visual image of what happened in a location), but I'm in the early stages...mostly writing background. If I can't do the power in a way I like then I may give writing a new power a try.

 

Heck, I may write a new one anyway just to have done it once.

 

(Sidebar: Yay! Happy 300th Post! I'm finally a superhero rather than a hero)

[TheEmerged]

Post-Fifth Edition, I'd say the only "gaps" are the ones that the system doesn't really need in the first place: invulnerability, auto-hit, and inescapable. The Change Environment expansion in 5th Edition in particular really steps up to the plate for a lot of the powers people used to say HERO didn't do well (most notably, "debuff" style powers).

[Killer Shrike]

I have created a few custom powers; here are two that have been posted to the new boards in various places:

 

 

9) Density Decrease: Each 20 Base Points gives its target x1/2 Mass, +1" KB, -5 STR (no figured), +1 PD, +1" Leaping. The attack is visible, the effects are not. The effect is constant and continues as long as the Endurance cost is paid to maintain the effect. The Defense is having Shrinking, Growth, Density Increase, Desolid, or Shape Shift with the Cellular Adder.

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Invulnerability {Yield Symbol}

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Standard Power/Defense Power

Persistent

Self Only

 

Invulnerability provides a character with total immunity to any direct effects of a specific Tight Special Effect, whether that effect would be beneficial or not. This includes any of the characters own powers which are not Self Only or Sensory in nature; thus Instant powers such as Aid and Healing cannot be used on oneself unless specifically limited to Self Only if they are of a SFX covered by the Invulnerability.

 

A Tight SFX is any SFX that approximately 10 to 15% of opponents might be expected to possess within the confines of a particular setting. More or less expansive SFX can be selected for an Invulnerability but require the application of a modifier called Scope (see below).

 

Immunity to direct effect in this context means that any Power or outcome of a specific Special Effect has absolutely no effect upon the character whatsoever, regardless of circumstance. In the case of Attack Powers this means that no damage or dice of effect are applied to an Invulnerable character if the SFX of the attack is covered by the SFX of the Invulnerability. For all other Powers which have some effect not determined by dice of effect, that effect fails to affect an Invulnerable character if the SFX of the attack is covered by the SFX of the Invulnerability. Attacks that cause damage as an incidental or situational effect may still affect an Invulnerable character. For example Change Environment typically will affect an Invulnerable character with the exception of any direct damage even if the SFX of the Invulnerability applies to the SFX of the Change Environment. Similarly, using Powers to affect the environment around an Invulnerable character may have an effect depending on the circumstances involved and the Scope of the Invulnerability.

 

Example: HEROGuy is Invulnerable to Mental Powers (90 Real Cost in most supers campaigns). The villain Simon Sez tries to use his 12d6 Mind Control (SFX: Psychic) on HEROGuy, automatically failing because HEROGuy is Invulnerable to the SFX of his attack. HEROGuy laughs off the weak attempt at penetrating his thick skull, but thinking fast Simon Sez uses his Mind Control to command a passing driver to swerve off the road and careen into HEROGuy from behind! The fender of the Lexus leaves a painful dent in his thigh as HEROGuy Rolls with the Punch. Maybe he should have invested in some armored tights!

 

Example: OmegaMAN is Invulnerable to Energy Powers (150 Real Cost in most supers campaigns). OmegaMAN has tracked down the vigilante Drastic Measures, trapping him in a parking garage. Drastic whirls around and tries to use his 4d6 RKA (SFX: Anti-Matter Ray) on OmegaMAN, doing no damage because OmegaMAN is Invulnerable to the SFX of his attack. Sadly, OmegaMAN isn't as quick on his feet as Drastic Measures, and before he can react Drastic targets the ceiling of the garage level over his head, bringing quite a lot of cement and a couple of cars down on his head despite an ungainly attempt to jump clear. Drastic shrugs and thinks to himself, "Well, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few dopey would be heroes' heads", as he gets back to his personal war on crime.

 

This Power can also be circumvented by the use of Variable Special Effects in some circumstances if the SFX that the Invulnerability protects against is narrow enough. Thus a Mutant with a Variable SFX (Any Energy) Energy Blast could get around an Invulnerability vs Fire or any other Tight SFX by switching between SFX until he found one that worked, but could not circumvent an Invulnerability with a broader SFX that applied to his attack such as Invulnerability vs Mutant Powers or Invulnerability vs Energy.

 

Example: Arkelos the Wizard targets a Fire Dragon which has Invulnerability to Fire with his Mystic Bolt of Mutilation with Variable SFX (Fire, Ice, Electric, Acid). If Arkelos choose the Fire SFX the Dragon will take absolutely no damage from the spell, but the other SFX will affect the Dragon normally. However, if Arkelos used the same spell against a Celestial Dragon with Invulnerability to Magic (a +1 1/2 Advantage in most Fantasy campaigns) the spell will not work regardless of whether Arkelos chooses Acid, Fire, Electric, or Cold because the Spell also has SFX: Magic. Arkelos might want to consider diplomacy!

 

This Power can be taken many times, applying to a different SFX with each purchase.

 

This Power is inappropriate in many campaigns, particularly Invulnerabilities to broad categories of Special Effects, and should be approved by the GM prior to use. Dramatic and common sence should be considered in the taking of Invulnerabilites. A character that is totally Invulnerable to any reasonable threat can place a significant strain upon the GM's ability to challenge that character, and such a character could outshine other PC's if allowed to run amok.

 

In any case where the broadness of a Special Effect is in doubt, the GM has final authority (as always).

 

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Scope: The broadness of the SFX defined will effect the usefulness of the power; broader SFX categories will cost more points than narrower to reflect thier general usefulness. A reasonably tight single SFX should represent a SFX that approximately 10-15% of the potential opposition might possess within the campaign as whole. Thus, SFX: Heat/Fire, SFX: Radiation, SFX: Magnetism are all tight single SFX in most supers campaigns but SFX: Mental or SFX: Mutant Powers are usually not as they cover a broader range of powers/abilites unless mutants or mental powers are abnormally scarce in that particular campaign. Similarly Invulnerability to "My Brothers Mutant Powers" is extremely specific and should be commensurately less expensive.

 

The Scope modifier may be either an Advantage or a Limitation depending upon its application. Scope is rated in terms of broadness and specificity. Thus to represent an Invulnerability which applies to a broader or more narrow SFX than normal use the following chart:

 

Scope	Modifier
Vs. a Specific Individual or a 5% subset of a Tight SFX	-1 3/4
Vs. a Small Group (immediate family, fellow test subjects, a 25% subset of a Tight SFX)	-1 1/4
Vs. a Medium Group (extended family, common subrace, uncommon race, a 50% subset of a Tight SFX)	-3/4
Vs. a Large Group (very common subrace, common race, a 75% subset of a Tight SFX)	-1/4
Tight SFX (approximately 10-15% prevalent)	+/-0
broad SFX (appoximately 25% prevalent)	+1/2
Very Broad SFX (appoximately 50% prevalent)	+1
Extremely Broad SFX (appoximately 75% prevalent)	+1 1/2
Encompassingly Broad SFX (appoximately 100% prevalent)	+2

 

The total modifiers are added to garner the value of the Scope Modifier. Thus an Extremely Broad SFX (+2) that applied only to a Small Group (- 1 1/4) would be a +3/4 Advantage.

 

Example: Destructo is only immune to his brother Opticon's Mutant Powers (-1 3/4), in a campaign where approximate 25% of all opponents are Mutants (+1/2). Thus the Scope modifer for Destructo's Invulnerability is (-1 1/4), or 60 / 2.25 = 27 points. If Opticon had a tighter SFX for some or all of his powers such as "Lasers" then Destructo could buy his Invulnerability only vs Opticon's Laser Powers, which would equate to a Scope modifier of (-1 3/4) 22 points. If Opticon has powers that do not have the Laser SFX, they will affect Destructo normally but his Laser powers will not affect Destructo directly at all. However, any indirect effects would apply as normal. If Opticon uses his Lazer to cause a treebranch or similar overhang to drop on Destructo from above, or to cut a crater into the ground beneath Destructo's feet, Destructo's Invulnerability will not protect him from any damage or inconvenience incurred from those circumstances.

 

Allowing a character to buy Invulnerability to thier nemesi's powers can be game altering and should be carefully considered or disallowed outright, but in some cases common and or dramatic sense may dictate that this is not only allowable but adds an interesting twist to a plot line. In any case, this is not a tactic which should be encouraged or over used lest it lose its impact.

 

Some common Invulnerabilities would include:

 

Invulnerable to "Physical" attacks is a 100% relevant Encompassingly Broad SFX (+2) in almost all settings and thus costs 180 points.

 

Invulnerable to "Energy" attacks ranges from Very to Encompassingly Broad, but in most supers and fantasy campaigns will be Extremely Broad and thus cost 150 points.

 

Invulnerable to "Slashing/Piercing" attacks is 25% in most modern settings, 50% in most supers settings, and 75% in most fantasy or gun heavy settings and thus costs 90/120/150 points accordingly.

 

Invulnerable to Blunt/Impact attacks (including Knockback/down and falling damage) is generally 75% relevant in most campaigns, but this may be only 50% relevant in many fantasy or gun heavy campaigns and thus is either 120 or 150 points accordingly

 

Invulnerable to all Mental Powers will vary from campaign to campaign, but in many supers campaigns will generally be 25% relevant and thus cost 90 points. Invulnerability to all Ego Blasts however would work out to a Tight SFX, Small Group (about 25% of all Menatalist probably have an EGO Attack, and random powers bought as an EGO Attack round out the difference) in most campaigns for 27 points (as a comparison, a character with 27 points of Mental Defense and a 10 EGO would resist 29 points of damage from EGO Blasts (5d6 of effect max, or 8d6 average) for 27 points, and also resist all other Mental Powers).

 

 

Invulnerable to all Mutant Powers will vary from campaign to campaign, but in many supers campaigns will generally be 25% relevant and thus cost 90 points. Invulnerability to all Mutant Fire Powers however would work out to Broad SFX, Small Group for a (-3/4) which would be 34 points

 

Invulnerable to all Superhuman Powers will vary from campaign to campaign, but in most supers campaigns will generally be 75% relevant and thus cost 150 points. In some common source campaigns, this might be a 100% relevant SFX but probably also qualifies for one of the Specific limitations as well indicating a Invulnerability that would not work vs the Superhuman Powers with a different origin. The definition of a "Superhuman Power" would be any Power excluding other constructs bought as a Power such as Characteristics or Skills which is natural to a character and not conceptually externalized from the character such as through a universal Focus, some instances of Only in HERO Id or Restrainable, and not native to a characters race. This would cover most altered humans, mutants, and some "Power Ring" type characters (with non-universal FOCI) but not cover most gadgeteers, sentient robots, power armor users, martial artists, or some aliens (aliens such as Ironclad which have abilities not typical of thier race would be affected).

 

Invulnerable to all Martial Arts attacks should generally be bought as Invulnerable to "Physical" only vs Martial Arts which in most campaigns would qualify as a Small Group for 105 points, but as a Large Group in a NinjaHERO game for 165 points. A lesser form of this Invulnerability would be to buy it as Invulnerable to Blunt/Impact attacks (including Knockback/down and falling damage) which would not protect against bladed weapons used in conjunction with Martial Arts, but would cost only 75 points in a non martial arts specific campaign or 135 in a NinjaHERO Campaign.

 

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Hulled: If a character or vehicle's Invulnerability stems from a protective outer skin or outer layer and thier insides do not benefit from the protection of the Invulnerability if attacked directly then that is roughly equivalent to a mild form of Restrainable and is worth a -1/4 Limitation. Any attack, including some Conforming AoEs (such as gas clouds and similar), some Change Environments, and some Indirects which can circumvent the Invulnerable Hull are applied normally, ignoring the Invulnerability. Further, some circumstances may circumvent the Invulnerability for all attacks outright even if they lack appropriate advantages; for example an Invulnerable Hulled Vehicle with an open door would lose the benefit of its Invulnerability to an attack that was able to exploit such an opening, typically with a -2 to hit or with a Called Shot if using Hit Locations. Finally, opponents that have successfully Grabbed an Invulnerable character or vehicle may strike at openings in the Hull with the usual penalties for Grabbing while keeping a hand free if they can reasonably reach those openings. For most characters, as opposed to Vehicles, openings in thier 'Hull' would include thier eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth, and other bodily orifices at the GMs discretion. Characters and vehicles with Hulls also typically take the Visible limitation.

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Weakness Some Invulnerable Characters have a specific exclusion clause to thier Invulnerability. For some, it is a literal location on thier body, for others its a specific material, and for still others its more abstracted. It is usually appropriate to also take either a Vulnerability or Susceptibility Disadvantage (or both) for the character revolving around the Weakness to depict a truly serious frailty.

 

Location Weaknesses are a place on the body of a character which is not protected by the Invulnerability; if the Weakness is also defined as accessible then an opponent that knows about the location may take a -2 OCV on attack rolls if not using Hit Locations, or may make a called shot if using Hit Locations to target this area and if successful will completely bypass the characters Invulnerability. Achille's Heel is a classic example of this type of Weakness.

 

Material Weaknesses represent an Invulnerability which does not affect a specific type of material such as alluminum, silver, wood or a specific subtype of that substance; a weapon constructed of that material (even a makeshift weapon) will always circumvent the Invulnerability. Superman's weakness to Kryptonite or the Norse god Baldur's weakness to mistletoe are examples of this type of Weakness.

 

Abstract Weaknesses represent less specific or more conceptual weaknesses. Some possibilities might include a character whose Invulnerability does not work at all during a certain phase of the moon, or is turned off if they see a certain color. GM's discretion should be used heavily for such Weaknesses, and should carefully consider whether in some cases a Physical Limitiation, Accidental Change (to unprotected by Invulnerable and back), a Dependency, or some other Disadvantage might not be more appropriate for the character.

 

 

Weaknesses are represented using a process similar to defining a Focus. A Weakness is defined by how apparant it is, how accessible it is, and what type it is; first determine whether the Weakness is a Material, Location, or Abstract Weakness. and then decide if the Weakness is Obvious or Inobvious, and whether it is Accessible or Inaccessible.

 

Inobvious Inaccessible Weakness (IIW) is a -0 Limitation; it represents a Weakness which is neither apparent nor exploitable in combat and is not limiting enough to be worth any points. Such a Weakness basically serves as a flavorful character hook or as an enabler for a larger concept; for example a character with such a Weakness may take an Infrequent Physical Limitation that occurs if the Weakness is exploited or something similar. An IIW can be exploited if a character is rendered helpless but generally not otherwise.

 

Obvious Inaccessible Weakness (OIW) is worth -1/4; it represents a part of the characters body that is noticably unprotected or vulnerable but which is generally difficult or impossible to target specifically in combat, such as thier eyes perhaps; suprise attacks or attacking the character while they are incapacitated will bypass the Invulnerability. This form of Weakness can be used to represent some characters that must concentrate or be aware of a threat to maintain thier Invulnerability, like Captain Britain and some Martial Artists, but are as vulnerable as anyone else (aside from any other defenses they may have) if incapacitated or caught unawares. in this case an opponent should intuit that an ambush would be an effective tactic against such a character.

 

Inobvious Accessible Weakness (IAW): is worth -1/2; it represents a Weakness which is not obvious or apparent but which can be targeted in combat to circumvent the Invulnerability.

 

 

Obvious Accessible Weakness is worth -1; it represents a weakness which is both clearly identifiable and exploitable in combat. All opponents can immediately discern the Weakness and target it in combat. Such a Weakness is rare, but examples include suit of Invulnerable Armor lacking a helmet or face mask (thus the head would be the Weakness in this case).

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Non-Dispersing: is worth -1/2. Some Invulnerabilities will stop all damage, but dont disperse the impact of the attack. Thus a character with a Non-Dispersing Invulnerability still takes Knockback as normal and will take damage from the Knockback unless thier Invulnerability specifically protects against it (such as Invulnerable to Physical, Invulnerable to Blunt/Impact).

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Affects Desolidified: Though derived from Desolid using the Custom Powers rules, Invulnerability is now a seperate power and is not affected by powers with this Advantage.

 

Area of Effect: Normally this has no bearing on Invulnerability, but Areas of Effect that are bought Conforming do have an effect on Hulled Invulnerability. A Conforming attack treats a Hull as a wall, but may at the GMs discretion seep into any breaches or openings in a Hull circumventing the Invulnerability and having its normal (or a reduced) effect. For a character with a Hulled Invulnerability, this might indicate a poison gas or a fire ball which gets into his respiratory system even though his skin is unharmed.

 

Armor Piercing: AP has no effect vs. a character Invulnerable to the SFX of the AP attack.

 

AVLD: AVLD has no effect vs. a character Invulnerable to the SFX of the AVLD attack. Invulnerable cannot be defined as the targeted Defense of an AVLD attack.

 

BOECV: BOECV has no effect vs. a character Invulnerable to the SFX of the BOECV attack.

 

Inherent: Invulnerability can be bought Inherent.

 

Indirect: Normally Inderect is irrelevant to Invulnerability, but can interact with Hulled Invulnerability. If an Indirect Attack is bought in such a way to circumvent a targets 'outer layer', or which indicate a particularly accurate form of attack which is 'guided' then as circumstances indicate Indirect of this sort will allow the circumvention of Hulled Invulnerability in the correct circumstances. Generally such an Indirect attack should get in at least one shot if circumstances allow before an Invulnerable character or the pilot of an Invulnerable vehicle can take steps to close or ward any breaches in thier Hull, but at the GMs discretion a suitable Indirect attack may continue to exploit this weakness by taking an appropriate penalty to thier attack roll ranging upwards from -2 OCV even if the Invulnerable character is attempting to protect the gaps in thier Hull.

 

NND: NND has no effect vs. a character Invulnerable to the SFX of the NND attack. Invulnerable is not a 'Normal Defense' and thus is not circumvented by an NND attack if the SFX of the NND Attack is covered by the SFX of the Invulnerability. Invulnerability vs the specific SFX of an NND is not a valid 'exculsion clause' for an NND because Invulnerability already does not take damage from the attack in the first place. However, an NND could name general Invulnerability as part of an exclusion set indicating that a character with any sort of Invulnerability at all is unaffected by the NND even if the SFX of the NND would normally not be stopped by the Invulnerability.

 

Penetrating: Penetrating has no effect vs. a character Invulnerable to the SFX of the Penetrating attack. However, Hulled Invulnerability may not stop Penetrating damage at the GMs discretion; however at worst a Hulled Invulnerability should not suffer more than half the Penetrating damage of such an attack.

 

Personal Immunity: This Advantage may be taken on Invulnerability, although it is a limited use case. This would allow a character to affect themselves with a targeted beneficial effect if the SFX of the Invulnerability would normally prevent it. The primary use for this would be if a character had an Aid or Healing Power not bought Self Only which had a SFX covered by thier own Invulnerability.

 

Usable On Others: This can be applied normally to Invulnerability. However, some duration and/or other means of ending the effect should be defined as normal for a 0 END Constant Power.

 

Variable Advantage: As detailed in the Power Description, this Advantage can sometimes be used to circumvent specific Invulnerabilities.

 

Variable Special Effects: At the GMs discretion, this Advantage may be allowed to represent an Invulnerability which can be 'fine tuned' to work against various SFX of equal Scope. However, this could be extremely powerful and should be considered a STOP sign ability.

 

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Ablative: This is not appropriate to Invulnerability; a better way to represent an "Ablative" Invulnerability is using either a Burnout Activation or Charges.

 

Activation: Activation Rolls are appropriate to Invulnerability, particularly with either the Jammed or Burnout rules. Burnout particularly could be used to model an "Ablative" coating.

 

Charges: In general, since Invulnerable is already a 0 END Constant power, Charges are inefficient. However, they can be taken with Invulnerable if desired, and is another method that can be used to represent an 'Ablative' coating or even a '9 Lives' effect. However, the Fuel option should not be allowed, or at least treated as a STOP sign power. Boostable Charges have no relevance to Invulnerability.

 

Nonpersistant: This can be taken with Invulnerability, and can also be combined in many fashions with Concentration, Costs Endurance only to Activate, Increased Endurance, and/or Extra Time to represent a kind of Invulnerability that takes some effort to 'turn on', and when combined with Visible may indicate some kind of Armor Skin or a metamorphosis into some more durable form.

 

FOCI: Foci work normally with Invulnerability unless the Weakness modifier is also taken on Invulnerability. A GM should carely examine an Invulnerability with both FOCI and Weakness to ensure that they are 2 seperate issues and not a 'double dip'. Typically a Focus will benefit from whatever Invulnerabilities it grants. Thus an Amulet of Fire Prevention which grants Invulnerability to Fire would itself be immune to fire damage. This is open to GM's interpretation however, particularly in the case of Fragile FOCI.

 

Gradual Effect: This is not appropriate for Invulnerability.

 

OIHID: This Limitation is appropriate to Invulnerable, but see Visible below and Nonpersistent above.

 

Restrainable: This is not normally appropriate to Invulnerability; see Weakness instead.

 

Visible: Much like Visible Armor, Visible Invulnerability takes the form of some outward indication that the target is particularly resistant to harm. The visual appearance should give a very strong clue of the appropriate types of damage the Invulnerable character is resistant to. Thus someone with a Visible Invulnerability to fire may have red skin and constantly flaming hair as a SFX. Someone with a Visible Invulnerable to Mental may have an effect apparent to anybody with Mental Awareness such as a specific aura or a constant mental static surrounding them. The net effect is anyone possessing a power of the SFX that the Invulnerable character is protected from should be able to 'guess' thier Invulnerability by making an Intelligence check, PER Roll, Power Skill check, or even automatically as the GM decides before deciding to attack them and even if they fail such a roll, it should be made clear to them after attacking that the Invulnerable character is completely unharmed by thier attack.

 

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Invulnerability Cost: 60 points for Invulnerability to a single tightly defined Special Effect approximately 15% prevelant to the game setting.

 

[Zaratustra]

I still prefer to treat Invulnerability as 100% Damage Reduction and put SFX penalties on top of that. Actually, I'd prefer to do that with everything, including Desolid and NNDs, but one can't have all.

[Killer Shrike]

Zara...something I still prefer to treat Invulnerability as 100% Damage Reduction and put SFX penalties on top of that.

The problem with doing that is that it doesnt protect vs things which dont do damage directly, but rather do effect. To me, Invulnerability should be unilateral, all or nothing.

 

It also doesnt cover Special Effects that are more general and cross 'damage type' boundaries. For example, Invulnerability to 'Mutant Powers' via Damage Reduction would require one to buy all types of Damage Reduction to cover the bases, and still wouldnt handle attacks vs Power Defense or Flash Defense.

 

You could add Dmg Reduc vs Flashes and vs Adjustment powers as a GM fiat, but then you end up buying 5 different powers to model 1 basic concept.

Actually, I'd prefer to do that with everything, including Desolid and NNDs, but one can't have all.

Im not sure what you mean by this? Do what with everything? Please clarify?

 

My only concern with doing Invulnerability as I documented above is that at its basic level (vs Tight SFX), its more expensive than buying Desolid to do the same thing and limiting it only vs Specific Type of Damage. The reason for that is when I built the power as a Custom power based off of Desolid, I split the difference between the official 'Must buy Affects Physical World because they are technically Desolid' and the GMs (common sense) option to ignore the technicality and accept that they are not really Desolid as a +1 Advantage to buy off Cant Affect Physical World on the Desolid.

 

Thus in campaigns where the GM doesnt make such characters buy Affects Physical World for thier other powers, using the Invulnerability rules will be more expensive by a solid margin than using Desolid. However, I think its cost is reasonable to its effect and just expensive enough to ensure that someone taking it is not doing so lightly; it will be an intrinsic part of a character rather than an also ran.

 

 

Personally, Ive always thought the Desolid to fake-up Invulnerability option is just a hack job. Either Invulnerability is not necessary to the game mechanic and thus this option shouldnt exist, or it a valid type of power and should be included. I personally think 'no Invulnerability' is a sacred cow of early Champions that has become gravid with dogmatic justifications. The concept of Invulnerability is interlaced throughout the supers genre at the very least, and shows up in fantasy and scifi as well but cant be done directly in the HERO System by default without invoking a very wonky work around (Desolid only vs. Thing; uh--but not really Desolid). Just like Growth and Shrinking should indicate a person that can actively change thier size, Desolid should be for people that actually ignore or circumven Solidity in some way. IMO of course, and obviously others opinions differ or else there would be an Invulnerability power in the book.

[Zaratustra]

*shrug* You'd have to do buy three defenses to be half-resistant to all fire effects as well, so why not for Invulnerability? Still, here's another solution:

 

DC Reduction - reduces 1 DC/level from all powers that affect you. The cost is around 15-20 points per level, and is of course intended to be used with Only Against Limited SFX limitations.

 

Of course this puts Active Points over the edge. Which is why the book doesn't reccomend you use AP caps.

[zornwil]

I've created a few powers, some pretty consistent with the guidelines, a couple fairly inconsistent. As far as "recommendations", I'd say stick with things that really don't feel right ("too clunky or difficult to use" as it states in 5th ed.) as being derived from other powers, much as it mentions in the rulebook. But that "feel right" is very much to taste.